


the world is brighter than the sun now that you’re here

by finalizer



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, featuring grumpy nico and surprise pizza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-02-21 04:52:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2455409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finalizer/pseuds/finalizer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was hard, Nico eventually concluded, to maintain one’s air of spooky otherworldly detachment with a blinding ray of sunshine trailing one step behind him every minute of every day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the world is brighter than the sun now that you’re here

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome aboard the ss solangelo (aka i was challenged to jump ship from the ss percico & write some cute will/nico in under an hour)

It was hard, Nico eventually concluded, to maintain one’s air of spooky otherworldly detachment with a blinding ray of sunshine trailing one step behind him every minute of every day.

Said ray of sunshine being Will Solace, of course; _and no_ , it wasn’t an exaggeration, because the guy’s hair actually glowed in the bright afternoon sun _—_  like, some Twilight level sparkling shit right there.

Long story short, after Nico’s (involuntary, mind you) three day stint in the infirmary (“ _Doctor’s orders, di Angelo_ ”) had ended, Will had taken it upon himself to stalk the kid around camp grounds on a daily basis _—_  as a precaution (or so he claimed), in case Nico spontaneously decided to shadow over to the Underworld for shits and giggles, as it was fairly obvious that he was in no state to do such things.

And, well, Nico had no choice but to believe him, really. It wasn’t as if Will had any other reason to spend every living and breathing moment of his life around him. Unless Solace had some mysterious secret agenda that Nico had next to no idea about.

But, seriously, the whole Smiley McSunshine thing put a damper on Nico’s attempts at a permanent scowl. Then again, Will never really seemed to be fooled by Nico’s act _—_  he saw right past the mask.

 

“There was pizza for dinner,” Will was saying from where he’d seated himself, cross legged, across from Nico at the edge of the sparring ground. “Good thing I didn’t skip training this morning or I would’ve lost the battle for the last slice of pepperoni.”

There was a smug grin on his face when he tossed a wad of aluminum foil at Nico, who barely had the time to catch it before it hit him square in the forehead.

“You like pepperoni, right?” Will asked. Nico mentally slapped himself for finding that hopeful edge in his voice adorable. “And I’d like to avoid another hour long lecture about Italian stereotypes, if that’s possible.”

Nico gaped at him for a split second before dropping his gaze to the apparent slice of pizza in his hands. Misshapen and poorly wrapped, maybe, but pizza alright.

He allowed himself a frown. “So you’re saying that you practically got in a fist fight for this last slice of pepperoni and now you’re handing it over to me?”

Will appeared to have inched closer during the few seconds Nico’s attention had been focused on peeling back the crinkled foil.

He was beaming, as per usual. “Well, clearly, you had no intention of gracing the dining pavilion with your presence, di Angelo, so I thought it best to bring the dining pavilion to you. Besides, you’re so thin it hurts to look at you _—_ you have got to eat at least once a week. Or, you know, a few times a day, like ye olde average teenagers do.”

Seriously, give the guy a perm and a few cats and he’d be that weird aunt that everybody avoided around the holiday season. It seemed to Nico as if Will was on the verge of scooting closer and pinching his cheeks (Persephone had done that one time _—_  Nico actively avoided her like the plague from that moment on).

 

Will’s tired sigh cut through the silence.

“Look, if you don’t want me to handcuff you to a sickbed again, you’re gonna have to eat something sooner or later,” he insisted, previous playful spark gone from his eyes.

 

The story of that particular incident was actually pretty boring _—_  Nico, the little shit, had taken every opportunity to attempt an escape from the infirmary, sneaking out and going off to who the hell knows where every time Will turned his back for more than a minute. So, naturally, acting on professional medical instinct, Will had ended up handcuffing him to the bedframe as he slept (“ _Kinky_ ,” Jason had added).

 

“That a threat or a promise?” Nico asked, brows raised.

There was a pause and Will made a choking sound. And if it weren’t for the distractingly blinding sunlight, Nico would have seen the blush that creeped its way onto the other guy’s face.

“A threat,” Will finally squeaked (which he would later deny, because that had not, in fact, been a squeak, but a ‘ _temporary vocal failure’_ ).

To say he wasn’t disappointed by the straightforward answer would be a blatant lie. But Nico was good at hiding disappointment, so he wiped whatever look he was wearing off his face and begrudgingly took to eating the slice of pizza.

“Stop staring at me,” he grumbled several moments later, speaking with his mouth full like the rebel he was, because Will hadn’t dropped his gaze from Nico’s face for a single second.

“I’m sorry,” came the immediate reply, “it’s just that _—_  what has that pizza ever done to you?”

Nico said nothing.

“It’s like _—_  like you’re trying to shred it. Murder it, disintegrate it, vanquish it _—_  ”

“Are you done?” Nico sighed. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stared at Will with the most exasperated expression he could muster. Honestly, _this guy_ was the object of his affections?

Will shrugged innocently.

“And you didn’t bring me a drink?” Nico pressed on. “I’m hurt.”

For a brief moment it seemed as if Will was going to leap to his feet and sprint back to the pavilion and come back with a fully stocked mini fridge in record speed. Nico, before he realized what he was doing, stopped Will with a hand on his knee.

“You don’t actually have to go,” he muttered quickly and, _wow_ , he was making everything fifty times more awkward than he’d ever intended. Or maybe it was just awkward in his head and he was making a big deal out of nothing  _—_

Some kid yelped from across the grounds and Nico involuntarily flinched at the sudden noise, futilely attempting to withdraw his hand from where it’d been resting. Futilely, because Will covered his hand with his own, then looked Nico square in the eyes, very seriously.

“Okay, ghost boy, I won’t get you a drink,” he told him. “But I will drag you to your feet and make you get it yourself.”

Nico’s expression flickered between annoyed and homicidal. He settled for annoyed, because he was yet to regain enough energy to summon a murderous hoard of skeletons, despite his best attempts at getting himself healed.

Will never let go of Nico’s hand as he pushed himself to his feet, stumbling ever so slightly, and started across the lawn _—_  dragging a grumpy, reluctant son of Hades behind him as a result.

“I can walk by myself,” Nico grumbled, because of course he would protest at Will’s every attempt at babying him. Though, he’d never admit to stifling a smile then and there, because Will was holding his hand, y’know.

 

Will abruptly stopped walking and, as the Hollywood cliché would have it, Nico, not having paid any attention to the road in front of him, slammed straight into his back.

The taller boy spun on his heel and ended up standing a few centimeters away from Nico. Without a second of hesitation, he brought both hands up to the sides of Nico’s face. All things considered, he was too stunned to even attempt to pull away.

Will leaned in even closer. “You gotta take care of yourself,” he ordered, “but until you learn to do that on your own, I’m gonna hold your frickin’ hand and pull you around with me.”

His face split into a grin and before Nico could fully comprehend what was going on, Will actually pinched his cheek. Like, actually, endearingly pinched his cheek.

Will huffed in mock disappointment. “Skin and bones. Nothing but skin and bones,” he muttered to no one in particular.

With a theatrical sigh, he turned around and focused his attention on manhandling Nico across the courtyard.

And Nico was just glad that Will didn’t stick around to see his flustered twitching, though he was fairly certain anyone within a twenty foot radius could sense the heat radiating off his now burning face.

Because, yeah, he’d just gotten his goddamn cheek pinched, but, in all honesty, it wasn’t half bad when Will did it.

 


End file.
